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Background and Mission
The last
decade has brought revolutionary new imaging techniques into cancer
research. Along with accurate anatomical measurement techniques to
detect and localize a tumor, methods based on quantifying physiologic
and metabolic properties are being developed. Molecular imaging is
becoming a reality in understanding biological processes underlying
tumor development and progression. In order to exploit the technical
advances in vivo imaging for the advancement of cancer research, UCI
has established the Center for Functional Onco-Imaging (CFOI) in 2000
which was renamed after John Tu & Thomas Yuen in 2001 due to their
generous support of the center.
The long tem goal of the center is to
promote the application of imaging techniques in cancer research.
Towards this aim, imaging technology development and application of
such technology has been going hand in hand. In addition to the center
research activities, we also serve as a campus resource and support the
research of other investigators by providing expertise and facilities
for their research. The currently available imaging modalities at the
center include a 15-cm bore 7-Tesla MR system (small animals), a 94-cm
bore 4-Tesla MR system (human/small animals), a 57-cm bore 3-Tesla MR
system (humans), a congruent MR-Diffuse optical spectroscopy (MR-DOS)
system (small animals), a congruent MR-Optical Coherence Doppler
Tomography (MR-OCT/OCDT) system (small animals), a whole-body positron
emission tomography (PET) system (humans). The 7-T MR, MR-DOS, and
MR-OCDT systems have been developed under a Pre-ICMIC grant from the
National Cancer Institute (P20 CA086182). An MR/ Electrical Impedance
Tomography (MR-EIT) system (DOD BCRP DAMD 17-02-1-0326), and a
congruent MR/Diffuse Optical Tomography (MR/DOT) (P20 CA086182 &
R21/R33 CA101139) have also been under construction under separate
funding. All of these systems, with the exception of 1.5T MR and whole
body PET, have been developed in-house.
At the present time, the center has six
resident members and twenty collaborating members working through the
center. The participating faculty members are from the College of
Medicine, Schools of Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and
Engineering. |
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